Francesco Rotiroti
@rotiroti.bsky.social
Legal Scholar, Historian, Classicist – Legal Theory & History, Antiquity & Early Middle Ages, Classics, Early Christianity, Video Games – https://unicz.academia.edu/FrancescoRotiroti
I am utterly saddened that one of the most interesting indie developers on the scene might shut down, especially given that this is caused by a company operating from a position of market dominance. I have played Saturnalia on all platforms and am looking forward to Santa Ragione's next project(s)!
Our upcoming game HORSES was preemptively banned from Steam, with no path to appeal. The game will still launch next week on December 2nd and will be available on EGS, GOG, Humble, and Itch for $4.99. Here is a detailed FAQ covering what happened: horses.wtf/BannedFromSt...
November 26, 2025 at 10:58 AM
I am utterly saddened that one of the most interesting indie developers on the scene might shut down, especially given that this is caused by a company operating from a position of market dominance. I have played Saturnalia on all platforms and am looking forward to Santa Ragione's next project(s)!
Another work of love has just been published. I was invited to contribute a chapter to a volume (in Italian) edited by Elio Dovere, reflecting on the Council of Nicaea and its legacy on the occasion of its 1700th anniversary: editorialescientifica.it/prodotto/la-...
La fede di Nicea - Editoriale Scientifica
Sottotitolo: Tra teologia, politica, diritto (325-2025) Curatore: Elio Dovere Collana: Fondazione Banco di Napoli - Studi e testi Anno: 2025 Pagine: XIV- 364 IndiceContinue Reading
editorialescientifica.it
October 7, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Another work of love has just been published. I was invited to contribute a chapter to a volume (in Italian) edited by Elio Dovere, reflecting on the Council of Nicaea and its legacy on the occasion of its 1700th anniversary: editorialescientifica.it/prodotto/la-...
"Dear etc., we are contacting you because your expertise in areas related to linguistics (if any) makes you an ideal candidate to review the manuscript entitled..."
Pseudo-academic spam couldn't be more ludicrous.
Pseudo-academic spam couldn't be more ludicrous.
August 5, 2025 at 1:17 PM
"Dear etc., we are contacting you because your expertise in areas related to linguistics (if any) makes you an ideal candidate to review the manuscript entitled..."
Pseudo-academic spam couldn't be more ludicrous.
Pseudo-academic spam couldn't be more ludicrous.
I'm very glad to have contributed three articles to Wiley's Encyclopedia of Ancient History. They were published online a few days ago as part of the summer update.
July 4, 2025 at 12:31 PM
I'm very glad to have contributed three articles to Wiley's Encyclopedia of Ancient History. They were published online a few days ago as part of the summer update.
My review of J. Awes Freeman, The Good Shepherd has been published online by Vigiliae Christianae, ahead of its inclusion in vol. 79 later this year. Unfortunately, it is not a positive review.
brill.com/view/journal...
brill.com/view/journal...
June 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
My review of J. Awes Freeman, The Good Shepherd has been published online by Vigiliae Christianae, ahead of its inclusion in vol. 79 later this year. Unfortunately, it is not a positive review.
brill.com/view/journal...
brill.com/view/journal...
The second and final part of my study on the pastoral characterization of Constantine in the works of Eusebius has been published on Brill's website, ahead of its inclusion in vol. 93 of Tijdschrift voor Rechtsgeschiedenis later this year.
brill.com/view/journal...
brill.com/view/journal...
May 8, 2025 at 2:12 PM
The second and final part of my study on the pastoral characterization of Constantine in the works of Eusebius has been published on Brill's website, ahead of its inclusion in vol. 93 of Tijdschrift voor Rechtsgeschiedenis later this year.
brill.com/view/journal...
brill.com/view/journal...
May 4, 2025 at 11:46 AM
With the second season of the adaptation of #TLoU coming out in a few hours, it seems like a good moment to re-share my article on the first season, published in the current issue of @litfilmquarterly.bsky.social
My article on the TV adaptation of The Last of Us has just been published in the winter issue of Literature/Film Quarterly: lfq.salisbury.edu/_issues/53_1...
April 13, 2025 at 1:45 PM
With the second season of the adaptation of #TLoU coming out in a few hours, it seems like a good moment to re-share my article on the first season, published in the current issue of @litfilmquarterly.bsky.social
A bit like Plato's utopian government of philosophers—except CEOs are not scientists, scientists are not philosophers, and Plato's wishful utopia was an actual dystopia. Going great.
January 27, 2025 at 5:10 PM
A bit like Plato's utopian government of philosophers—except CEOs are not scientists, scientists are not philosophers, and Plato's wishful utopia was an actual dystopia. Going great.
It's hard to hear department heads say that history is not important—unlike economics or AI (source: a real conversation)—when things like this happen.
So Musk has spoken at an AfD rally today. He did his usual number and dragged antiquity into it by equating “Germans” with the “Germani” of Julius Caesar’s time, calling for a national pride in a thousand-year history of the nation. Wrong? Sure, but also eerily familiar.
www.zeit.de/politik/deut...
www.zeit.de/politik/deut...
AfD: Elon Musk ruft bei AfD-Veranstaltung zu Nationalstolz auf
Beim Wahlkampfauftakt der AfD kritisiert der live zugeschaltete Musk die Bundesregierung. Sie sei nicht am "Wohlergehen des deutschen Volkes" interessiert.
www.zeit.de
January 25, 2025 at 8:38 PM
It's hard to hear department heads say that history is not important—unlike economics or AI (source: a real conversation)—when things like this happen.
In the true Christian tradition, Trump should simply declare that he, too, is some sort of bishop. Incidentally, this might also give people with interests similar to mine something to write about in the future.
January 24, 2025 at 5:16 PM
In the true Christian tradition, Trump should simply declare that he, too, is some sort of bishop. Incidentally, this might also give people with interests similar to mine something to write about in the future.
While the reception of the TV adaptation of #TLoU has been largely positive, I believe my article for LFQ (below) may resonate with many among critics and viewers who have expressed dissatisfaction with certain aspects of it. Even if you weren't dissatisfied, you may still find it interesting!
My article on the TV adaptation of The Last of Us has just been published in the winter issue of Literature/Film Quarterly: lfq.salisbury.edu/_issues/53_1...
January 24, 2025 at 4:50 PM
While the reception of the TV adaptation of #TLoU has been largely positive, I believe my article for LFQ (below) may resonate with many among critics and viewers who have expressed dissatisfaction with certain aspects of it. Even if you weren't dissatisfied, you may still find it interesting!
'Job opportunities for the young' does not, in fact, stand for the overwhelmingly good thing it is presented to be. It mostly means the recruitment of an exploitable, ever-replaceable workforce, with no realistic path toward job stability.
Absolutely true. Ages ago I remember someone (I think it was @vlcampbell.bsky.social) over on the Other Place saying that the division is now not by career stage (early, mid, late) but by permanence. Either you have a secure job or you don't.
Obviously there are more pressing things to grumble about, but looking at short term research fellowships this morning it's disheartening that so many 'Early Career' opportunities are VERY early career, i.e. 1-3 years after the PhD viva.
January 23, 2025 at 10:42 AM
'Job opportunities for the young' does not, in fact, stand for the overwhelmingly good thing it is presented to be. It mostly means the recruitment of an exploitable, ever-replaceable workforce, with no realistic path toward job stability.
My article on the TV adaptation of The Last of Us has just been published in the winter issue of Literature/Film Quarterly: lfq.salisbury.edu/_issues/53_1...
January 21, 2025 at 10:16 PM
My article on the TV adaptation of The Last of Us has just been published in the winter issue of Literature/Film Quarterly: lfq.salisbury.edu/_issues/53_1...
Reading in itself does not necessarily improve people, of course. I have never had sympathy for that argument, even when I was a nerdy kid who read all the time. It is the structured engagement with good works of art (whether books, films, music, video games, or otherwise) that may improve people.
There used to be a debate about whether reading actually improved people as people or it was just another way to pass the time.
I feel like the 21st century decline of reading and simultaneous rise in ~waves hand at all that~ provides a pretty clear answer.
I feel like the 21st century decline of reading and simultaneous rise in ~waves hand at all that~ provides a pretty clear answer.
January 18, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Reading in itself does not necessarily improve people, of course. I have never had sympathy for that argument, even when I was a nerdy kid who read all the time. It is the structured engagement with good works of art (whether books, films, music, video games, or otherwise) that may improve people.
Those who write about video games are responsible, though. While both the general public and relevant professionals may favor English-language films, films (unlike video games) are not consistently discussed and theorized as if they exist in an international or global (read: Anglo-American) vacuum.
Some are taking my article as an attack on US game writers & historians. That would be like blaming US cinema critics for Hollywood's domination.
Like there's structural racism, cultural hegemony is also structural. My article tries to rally against it and celebrate resistances like the Taiwan expo
Like there's structural racism, cultural hegemony is also structural. My article tries to rally against it and celebrate resistances like the Taiwan expo
January 4, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Those who write about video games are responsible, though. While both the general public and relevant professionals may favor English-language films, films (unlike video games) are not consistently discussed and theorized as if they exist in an international or global (read: Anglo-American) vacuum.
Two experiments with non-expert poetry readers? I am afraid the lesson here is not that AI poetry is indistinguishable from human poetry, but that AI writing may indeed be marketable and successful—not because it is good, but precisely because it is simpler and dumber (so, worse) than human writing.
January 3, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Two experiments with non-expert poetry readers? I am afraid the lesson here is not that AI poetry is indistinguishable from human poetry, but that AI writing may indeed be marketable and successful—not because it is good, but precisely because it is simpler and dumber (so, worse) than human writing.
Hilariously enough, more than 100 years later, most people still think so; moral and legal philosophers among others beg to differ. Weber's theory of values is not the finest part of his oeuvre.
as science topples religion from the throne of Truth, it does not and cannot replace religion's meaning-making power.
This limitation of science changes the nature, reach, and implications of Truth; it is what splits fact from value and makes the latter undecidable at a scholarly level.
This limitation of science changes the nature, reach, and implications of Truth; it is what splits fact from value and makes the latter undecidable at a scholarly level.
January 1, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Hilariously enough, more than 100 years later, most people still think so; moral and legal philosophers among others beg to differ. Weber's theory of values is not the finest part of his oeuvre.
Reposted by Francesco Rotiroti
End-of-the-year publications have started to line up. I am very glad to have my article on Constantine, Eusebius, and the shepherd metaphor published in Tijdschrift voor Rechtsgeschiedenis, vol. 92: brill.com/view/journal...
brill.com
December 27, 2024 at 2:33 PM
End-of-the-year publications have started to line up. I am very glad to have my article on Constantine, Eusebius, and the shepherd metaphor published in Tijdschrift voor Rechtsgeschiedenis, vol. 92: brill.com/view/journal...
End-of-the-year publications have started to line up. I am very glad to have my article on Constantine, Eusebius, and the shepherd metaphor published in Tijdschrift voor Rechtsgeschiedenis, vol. 92: brill.com/view/journal...
brill.com
December 27, 2024 at 2:33 PM
End-of-the-year publications have started to line up. I am very glad to have my article on Constantine, Eusebius, and the shepherd metaphor published in Tijdschrift voor Rechtsgeschiedenis, vol. 92: brill.com/view/journal...
Criticism of wikipedia should not be left to be appropriated by people like Elon Musk...
December 25, 2024 at 1:35 PM
Criticism of wikipedia should not be left to be appropriated by people like Elon Musk...
Yes! What is commonly understood and practiced as video game history is basically the history of the video game industry. I read similar complaints in publications from 20 years ago, and so little has changed, even though VG scholarship is obviously in a much better place now than it was back then.
there is a desperate desperate need, imo, to bring a more rigorous art history approach to the history of tech-related art (video games et al), to provide a strong counterpoint to the increasingly fash-leaning nostalgia bait that currently passes for "history" of these types of media
I'm really interested in pieces that explore the right-wing angle on retro video game and computer collecting tbh, it's a growing cultural force and people need to understand how these hobbies can have deeply reactionary cultural valances
December 21, 2024 at 11:21 PM
Yes! What is commonly understood and practiced as video game history is basically the history of the video game industry. I read similar complaints in publications from 20 years ago, and so little has changed, even though VG scholarship is obviously in a much better place now than it was back then.
Among its countless problems, this system erases academic freedom and places control of education in the hands of those who control a computer program. This is not only an assault against knowledge, but also against democracy.
Everyone should be paying attention to the education situation in Arizona, which has been an early adopter of an ultra-libertarian approach to schools that's spreading nationally.... www.azcentral.com/story/news/l...
AI-powered virtual school where kids spend just 2 hours on academics coming to Arizona
The Charter Board has greenlit a virtual charter school where computer programs will teach students “core instruction” for just two hours per day.
www.azcentral.com
December 17, 2024 at 3:15 PM
Among its countless problems, this system erases academic freedom and places control of education in the hands of those who control a computer program. This is not only an assault against knowledge, but also against democracy.
I am writing a book chapter in Garamond font, as per the editorial guidelines, but it seems that Garamond does not support polytonic Greek. Am I doing something wrong? Is there no solution to include the correct diacritics in my document without switching to a different font?
December 8, 2024 at 2:37 PM
I am writing a book chapter in Garamond font, as per the editorial guidelines, but it seems that Garamond does not support polytonic Greek. Am I doing something wrong? Is there no solution to include the correct diacritics in my document without switching to a different font?
Our cat has recently discovered Rudolf Pesch's Kommentar zum Markus-Evangelium and seems to thoroughly enjoy it.
November 16, 2024 at 2:08 PM
Our cat has recently discovered Rudolf Pesch's Kommentar zum Markus-Evangelium and seems to thoroughly enjoy it.